The “Henry Hop” is only reserved for the most special occasions. For Dubai Hurricanes, a last-gasp, comeback win against their greatest rivals, to cap their remarkable climb back to the apex of UAE rugby and that too in the season they are celebrating their silver jubilee, qualifies as exactly that.
Two years ago, the club was languishing in the second tier of the domestic game. Despite being one of the largest amateur sports clubs in the region, they could not guarantee the availability of enough front-row forwards to compete safely along with the other giants of the domestic game.
They dropped down a division, and, although they rose back up straight away, on-field success remained a challenge. Then, at the end of last season, they put together a run of results that took them to the final of the UAE Premiership.
They fell short back then, beaten by Jebel Ali Dragons, but were encouraged to believe they were on the right track.
Twelve months later, they made it back to the same final. Again, they were second favourites on Saturday afternoon, against a Dubai Exiles side who have set the benchmark for excellence in UAE rugby for the best part of a decade.
The form guide appeared to be accurate as the Exiles, who had home pitch advantage – for what it is worth, given both sides are tenants at The Sevens – having finished higher in the league season, stretched out to a 26-8 lead by half-time.
The Exiles’ power game looked to be too much for the Hurricanes. All their tries were scored by seasoned UAE internationals: two for hooker Moeneeb Galant, and one apiece for Epeli Davetawalu and Justin Walsh.
And yet, for all the Exiles’ strength, the Hurricanes always carried a threat, especially in broken play. Wherever the Exiles left gaps, the Canes backline were clever enough to find them.
After Aaron Dubois had got them on the board in the first half, they cut the arrears with two quick tries after the break, through Andre Gerber and Martin Mangwiro.
The Exiles maintained a 29-20 cushion via the kicking tee, but Ruan Steenkamp, the Hurricanes captain, reduced the arrears with a late try.
There was enough time for the Hurricanes to mount another attack, from which they earned a penalty in kicking range. Gerber, with his 15th point of the game, bisected the posts to give the Hurricanes a thrilling 30-29 win, and with it, the UAE Premiership title.
All of which was enough for Henry Paul, the Hurricanes coach, to channel his inner Scott Robertson – the New Zealand coach who is known for his post-victory breakdancing – and bust out some moves in the valedictory huddle.
“This is something we started last season, and they wanted the ‘Henry Hop',” Paul said of his dance routine.
“I said if we win a final, I would do something. I’m not as skillful as ‘Razor’ [Robertson], but the boys got a laugh at my expense, which is fine because of what they have done for me over the past couple of seasons, and the amount of pleasure and joy I have got out of it.
“Even last year, losing the final to the Dragons, it was such a good season and we had so much to be proud of.”
The Hurricanes will not have long to celebrate. The domestic showpiece fixture doubled as a qualifier for the West Asia Super Rugby final.
The Hurricanes will play Bahrain in that, after the region’s pre-eminent side beat Abu Dhabi Harlequins 29-21 on Saturday.
Again, the Hurricanes will start that game as outsiders against a Bahrain side who have rivalled the Exiles as West Asia's top team over the past decade. And yet the Hurricanes playing style means they will always be a threat.
To be at 26-8 and turn it around just shows the character in this team. We are a band of brothers
Andre Gerber
The high-skilled, fast-paced attack is very much in their coach’s image. Paul was renowned as a stylish back in a playing career which saw him capped for England at XVs and sevens, and he was a great of rugby league, too.
Gerber said he couldn’t comment on whether the Hurricanes style is based on Paul’s style, claiming “I wasn’t born when he played”.
But the scrum-half’s own high-risk play to score the try which infused his side with belief just after half-time was the perfect expression of it.
“To be at 26-8 and turn it around just shows the character in this team. We are a band of brothers,” Gerber said.
“We have a perfect gameplan which brings out the personalities in our team. We have an expressive style of play. We believe in the system, and the system produced for us.
“Henry helps us express ourselves on the field and the belief coming from the coaching system is what allows us to do things like that.”
Paul said his side have room for improvement against Bahrain, but is thrilled to have won a final.
“As a coach, you do get nervous,” Paul said. “You back the players and say, ‘Trust what you do'. There were a lot of mistakes tonight, a lot of errors that we can fix and maybe it wouldn’t have been such a dramatic comeback.
“It shows the character of the team, and I must give a special mention to our attitude. That wasn’t the system; it was guys just working for each other.
“In terms of team morale, some guys just didn’t want to give up. We charged down three kicks, to turn those over then making something of that, it shows they believed.
“The coaching staff give them a bit of rope. Sometimes they hang themselves with it, but there are some quality players here and it is really nice to get that ‘W’ on the board in a big game.”
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
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